If Joe Burrow's decision to stay an Ohio State Buckeye depended on fans knowing his name, he'd already be out the door.

It's Burrow. Not Burrows. No "s."

He probably hasn't even noticed, so focused is he on winning the starting quarterback battle with Dwayne Haskins. But if it makes Burrow feel better, there were plenty of fans on message boards after Saturday's spring game who believe he checked all the boxes and should be No. 1 heading into camp this summer.

They aren't wrong.

Nor are the fans who believe Haskins "won" the spring game.

Nothing changed after a glorified practice that saw both quarterbacks throw two touchdowns, exhibit the ability to throw the ball into tight windows (are there really any wide-open windows with this receiving corps?), stand in and deliver under pressure (even if it was two-hand touch a good portion of the scrimmage) and display superior zip and arm strength to the three-time captain and record-holder they are hoping to replace.

There is no wrong choice in this debate.

To be clear, this is a two-horse race. There may be goal-line packages for a dynamic runner like Tate Martell, but his ability to dazzle with anything but his feet isn't there yet.

Right now, based on a small sample size, it seems to boil down to this for the OSU braintrust: Do you want steady or spectacular?

Burrow consistently moves the chains, something coach Urban Meyer has implied all along, while Haskins can wow you at any moment with a laser off his right arm.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins looks to the sidelines during Ohio State's spring game on Saturday.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins looks to the sidelines during Ohio State's spring game on Saturday.

Greg Bartram/USA TODAY Sports

Everything else being equal, Haskins has the trump card: a win in relief of an injured J.T. Barrett last year at Michigan.

But we can't forget the reason Haskins was in position to rally the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor was because Burrow broke a bone in his throwing hand during the preseason, a costly setback in what until then had been a spirited battle to be No. 2.

Some in the media have been pushing for Haskins all the way back to last year's loss in week two to Oklahoma and would have you believe the job is his to lose.

But anyone who objectively watched the spring game should have a hard time coming to that conclusion. We saw more separation on pass routes from OSU receivers last season.

Some might be ready to hand the starting job to Haskins based on a 25-yard touchdown pass he threaded to a blanketed Jaylen Harris on Saturday. Haskins was even more impressed with his 43-yard strike to Ben Victor against tight coverage.

But Burrow threw a similar downfield rope to Victor and then sent everybody home with something to think about with arguably the best pass of the day on the final play – a 42-yard touchdown bomb to Demario McCall just inside the right pylon.

"That's where I've really (improved) the last couple of years, putting the deep ball on the money," Burrow said. "I could only throw it 50-60 yards a couple of years ago, but I can threw it pretty far now."

Read into what you will, especially since most of OSU's top returning targets saw limited to no playing time, but Burrow was 15 of 22 for 238 yards and Haskins was 9 of 19 for 120 yards. Neither threw an interception. A lot of the throws were high percentage, but the DBs contested just about everything.

In deciding a starter, It's easy to be infatuated with Haskins' howitzer and to give him brownie points for his rescue effort at Michigan. But that comes with a caveat.

Isn't that what happened in 2015? Wasn't it his strong arm and 2014 playoff hero status that won relief ace Cardale Jones a job that, accompanied by higher expectations, he couldn't handle?

Burrow at least deserves the fair shot he seems to have gotten this spring.

Good decision-making, one of the attributes Meyer is looking for in a quarterback, is something Burrow has displayed on and off the field. Ironically, it could be the reason the fourth-year junior leaves Ohio State.

Knowing a starting job wasn't guaranteed, he wisely added to his course load over the last three semesters to put himself in a position to graduate this spring and start at OSU or somewhere else immediately because of NCAA graduate rules.

Sounds like a heady "options" quarterback.

"It's something I wanted to have on the table if it didn't work out here," Burrow said.

Ideally, given the adage "you're only a snap away," both Burrow and Haskins will be at OSU in the fall, and Martell, too, for insurance. The likelihood of all three staying seems slim, but it's hard to imagine Meyer making a decision on his starter until August.